Lilian's Tree

 Having been to the NSW & ACT Family History Conference, several weeks ago, I've been researching names, people and ships. The name, CHASMAR. I've found that is isn't a Hugenot surname, nor is it a Norman one. It is an Early English one, so that is good to know. The people, John Eyde MANNING. Charlotte Chasmar was assigned to his house, Ultimo House, in 1839 on her arrival from Kent. Well by 1841 she had had her first child, with Henry Vaughan, so what happened to her position? From reading through the newspapers, John Eyde Manning became insolvent, not long after she started working for the family. John went back to England in a bit of a disgrace, Charlotte and Henry got together and here I am! The ship, the   Cornwall ,   while I knew the size of the ship, I really wanted to know why 327 people from Kent came out at that time. A search for the ship lead me to a blog on WeAre.xyz and contact with a lady called Heather. She had family come on that ship, too and w...

The year is flying by and I'm still reading heaps. Another eight books this month and two that I didn't finish, more about them later. Well September starts with S, and I had to find an author with the surname starting with S. Enter Trish Stringer and Something in the Wine.   St in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia it is a delightful read. Keely Mitchell is holidaying in Perth when a medical emergency has her contacting a person she met on the plane to Perth. What follows is a story about family, wine and love.  I then found The Ravenmaster, my life with the Ravens at the Tower of London   by Christopher Skaife. Chris looks after the ravens in the Tower of London. He explains the birds, the history of why they are there and some of the things that happen, surrounding the birds. A wonderful read about a special part of history. Fiona McArthur released her new book, The Lightening Ridge Ladies.  Set in the New South Wales town of Lightening Ridge...

 In my last post  Rabbit Holes, (or Wombat Holes)  I mentioned that I was ordering several transcripts, with the hope of answering questions.  While I was away, at the State Conference, the transcripts arrived, via email. I hadn't taken my laptop, so I just looked at them on the iPad. The three death ones were sad.  Little Peter Barry Galbraith, only 2 died from heart disease, the heartache that his parents must have gone through. William Cameron Galbraith, (my Grandpop's brother) died of stomach cancer. Both his parents are listed on the certificate but not as deceased, which they both were. Eugene Elizabeth Galbraith, nee Martin, (wife of William, mother of Peter) died of  lung cancer. I also ordered William and Jean's marriage certificate. It has William's mother deceased, when it should have been his father.  The mystery is why did Jean change her name to Eugene?  Looking at the births of the first four children, Jean, Geoffrey, Willian and Al...

 With no early morning wake-ups, I still woke around 6.00am. I finished my packing, read and  did my usual things in the iPad. I decided to go for a small walk, before breakfast, near my hotel. Towradgi Creek. Towradgi is derived from the Dharawal word Kowradgi, meaning "guardian of the sacred stones." Back at the club in time for the 9.00am start, the atmosphere was still upbeat, with many conversations taking place, before our M.C., Chris called us to order.  Betty O'Neill was up first with Unlock Your Family's Story: A Writing Workshop. To quote Betty, Everyone has a family story worth telling-what's yours? She talked of using building blocks for stories, like developed characters, using the senses, detailed scenes were just some of them. A writing exercise, for us to get us thinking about our ancestors. I managed about 3/4 of a page and think I will expand it further.    Jeffrey Madsen, gives wonderful talks about using maps and how much they can tell you. H...

 1.30AM, WHOOP, WHOOP, WHOOP, THEN EVACUATE NOW, EVACUATE NOW! Is NOT how one wishes to be woken from a deep sleep. Down three flights of stairs and joined everyone out the front, admiring the variety of 'evening wear.'  It wasn't that cold and it wasn't raining, so not to bad to be outside at that time.  (it seems it could have been one of two things, someone smoking in their room or going out the fire door, either way the $1600 fine, from the Fire Brigade would hurt.) Day Two dawned bright and sunny and this was the main day. Six scheduled talks followed, by the Conference Dinner.  After a welcome from the Lord Mayor of Wollongong, Tania Brown and the Association President, Gail Hanger, the John Vincent Crowe Address was delivered by Dr Richard Reid, Patron of the Illawarra Family History Group Inc. Dr Reid's address was title Fairy Meadow So Far Away: Tales of Lost Illawarra, continuing with the conference theme, They Came from Where? He spoke of his arrival in t...

 Having woken on Thursday morning to more heavy rain, I was not looking forward to my drive, down, either Bulli Pass or Mount Ousley, to Fairy Meadow. By noon the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to shine, by 2.00pm we had blue sky and when I picked up two friends, I opted for the most scenic route, down the escarpment; Lawrence Hargrave Drive and the spectacular  Sea Cliff Bridge.   For more information about the wonderful feat of engineering, see this link;  Sea Cliff Bridge   Friday dawned with blue sky and we adjourned to the Fraternity Club for the first day of the conference, hosted by Illawarra Family History Group Inc.  This was their open day and I was thrilled to see so many non-conference attendees, (those of us with lanyards) there.  The Society had organised four speakers, for the day along with an array of exhibitors. It was wonderful to see so many friends and receive hugs.  The theme for the conference was They Came Fro...

 I have been busy with my One-Place Study, that my own family tree has been neglected. This past Saturday saw me do a Tree Check on my Ancestry tree. I found a strange name and had no idea where she came from, time to dig deeper and find out. The name I had was Lola Jean Galbraith and I had her as a daughter of William Cameron Galbraith and his wife Jean (or Eugene). William and Jean have a daughter Jean Kathleen but here is where it got interesting. Facts I had 1) William was the son of Arthur Galbraith and Mary Ann Grant. Born 17 March 1890.                       2) Little brother to Arthur Alfred Victor Galbraith, born 1885                       3) Married in 1913, Jean Elizabeth Martin.                    4) Had five children, Jean 1913, William 1916, Alfred 1918, Geoffrey 1923 and Peter c1935. In my ...